Puerto Rico Civil Registry

Genealogical use of Don & Doña

If you grew up speaking Spanish or speak the language with elders, then you have likely heard the terms “Don” and “Doña” thrown around. Don Juan, Don Cheo (nickname for José), Doña Pancha (nickname for Francisca), or Doña María are some examples of this type of title being used. Generally, it is used nowadays to …

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An Italian in Puerto Rico – Tomás Anzalota

Recently on Ancestry I was asked what I knew about Tomás Anzalota, an Italian immigrant to Puerto Rico who appears in my tree. Though Tomás is not a part of my main line of ancestors, whenever I find crossovers of people who married cousins or members of my family that are fairly interesting or a …

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Three Layers of Consanguinity

One of the biggest difficulties with Puerto Rican families when it comes to genealogy is the idea of consanguinity – when you share the same ancestors across a few of your branches. This is a common occurence on the island since many lines have been present in Puerto Rico for various generations and many date …

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Race among the “Ortiz Rivera” siblings of Corozal

I was driven to do some investigative research on my 3rd great-grandfather and his siblings after a discussion on a Facebook post about the term “raza india” appearing as a racial category on Puerto Rican records. I had discovered my 3rd great-grandfather’s race labeled as “india” on his death record some time ago, but besides …

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A Triple-Barrelled Surnamed Family? The García-Rodríguez-Bonilla

I’m not gonna lie — I have hesitated so many times in writing this post. First, I created the post itself and saved it under drafts for two years (enter the pandemic and other life events), after I began doing some research on the family and then stopped. Lastly, I created a file for them …

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Finding my 4th great-grandmother

Sometimes in genealogy, the most important step is taking none at all – take a break from your tree! Though it might seem counter-productive, spending too much time on a specific branch can cause burnout, in my opinion. There are many times you might find yourself coming across dead-ends and brick walls with what seems …

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9 Generations of Women – mtDNA L2a1

One day while I was in college, a friend asked me a question that to this day has stuck with me. She asked me, “how far can you trace your maternal line?”. She very well knew I was into genealogy and that I could rattle off various names and generations but I still stopped to …

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Presenting on Puerto Rican Genealogy

Some time ago (or what feels like an eternity ago) I had the pleasure of presenting for the first time about Puerto Rican research and genealogy. The first presentation was to a society in Texas (over Zoom) which I was asked by a fellow Boston University Genealogical Research classmate if I could present in one …

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